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They found 228 gene sequences
in dolphins had changed significantly relative to other mammals such as cows, dogs, horses and humans.

About one in 10 of those genes affects the nervous system - and could be key to understanding the creatures' mental powers.

'It was something we were hoping to find, since studies have shown
that they have a large brain and high cognitive ability,' says McGowen.

Surprisingly smart: 'It was something we were hoping to find, since studies have shown that they have a large brain and high cognitive ability,' says McGowen

‘They understand concepts like zero, abstract concepts. They do everything that chimpanzees do and bonobos can do,’ said Lori Marino, a neuroscientist at Emory University who specializes in dolphin research.

‘The fact is that they are so different from us and so much like us at the same time.’ Dolphin brains look nothing like human brains, Marino said. Yet, she says, ‘the more you learn about them, the more you realize that they do have the capacity and characteristics that we think of when we think of a person.’

These mammals recognize themselves in the mirror and have a sense of social identity.

They not only know who they are, but they also have a sense of who, where and what their groups are.

They interact and comprehend the health and feelings of other dolphins so fast it as if they are online with each other, Marino said.